The invention pertains to a postal sorting process according to which mail items are sorted by machine in first sorting offices so as to compile ordered batches of mail items each corresponding to a certain zone of distribution of the mail items of the relevant batch, and in which said batches of mail items originating from various first sorting offices and corresponding to one and the same distribution zone are processed by machine in a second sorting office so as to compile one or more mailman""s rounds, a machine-readable sort code indicative of a distribution address being affixed to each mail item during sorting in one of said first sorting offices with a view to being used during the processing of this mail item in the second sorting office.
The invention applies most particularly to postal sorting in handling sorting offices and subsequently in distribution sorting offices. The machine-readable sort code which is affixed to each mail item during the handling sorting phase is a matrix code, for example a bar code. In the distribution sorting phase where the mailman""s rounds are prepared, errors in reading the distribution codes affixed to the mail items may be fairly frequent. These errors may be due to poor printing of the code on the mail item or to poor presentation of the mail item in front of the code reader. These reading errors penalize the performance of the distribution sorting machines and the object of the invention is to remedy this drawback.
To this end, the subject of the invention is a postal sorting process according to which mail items are sorted by machine in first sorting offices so as to compile ordered batches of mail items each corresponding to a certain zone of distribution of the mail items of the relevant batch, and in which said batches of mail items originating from various first sorting offices and corresponding to one and the same distribution zone are processed by machine in a second sorting office so as to compile one or more mailmans rounds, a machine-readable sort code indicative of a distribution address being affixed to each mail item during sorting in one of said first sorting offices with a view to being used during the processing of this mail item in the second sorting office, characterized in that it furthermore consists in compiling in said first sorting offices, ordered lists of said codes which are representative of the order of the mail items in said batches of mail items; in transferring said lists of codes from the first sorting offices to the second sorting office; and during the processing of the batches of mail items in the second sorting office, in comparing the codes read by machine on the mail items with the codes extracted from said lists of codes with a view to recovering errors in reading said codes by machine.
The invention helps to improve considerably the effectiveness of the handling sorting and distribution sorting phases. The process according to the invention can easily be implemented if the lists of codes are transferred from the first sorting offices (the handling sorting offices) to the second sorting office (a distribution sorting office) by way of a computerized telecommunication network. This implementation may be effected on an existing pool of sorting machines without it being necessary to modify the organization of the successive sorting operations in the handling sorting offices and in the distribution sorting offices.